Iran – Paramount Naval Power in the Making

By: S. Nawabzadeh

According to the definition given by Wikipedia "A navy or maritime force is the branch of a nation’s armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes anything conducted by surface ships, amphibious ships, submarines, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields. The strategic offensive role of a navy is projection of force into areas beyond a country’s shores (for example, to protect sea-lanes, ferry troops, or attack other navies, ports, or shore installations). The strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of the navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles.”
Currently, the Islamic Republic of Iran is conducting the "Velayat 97” drill in an area of two million square kilometers, stretching from the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance of the Persian Gulf to the southeastern coasts of Makran on the Gulf of Oman and the northern parts of the Indian Ocean, down to the 10-degree latitude.
Iran, whose naval assets number around 400 and include almost all the vessels and their equipment in the above definition (except, of course, nuclear weapons whose manufacture is strictly forbidden by Islam), has every right to upgrade its defensive capabilities in its coastal waters, both in the south and the north in the Caspian Sea.
On Sunday, Iran successfully test-fired cruise missiles from submarines in the depths of the ocean at targets on the sea surface as well as on land, in addition to the testing of various other strategic weapons in order to demonstrate its combat readiness in case of any evil intention by its cowardly enemies.
In other words, Iran cannot afford to sit idle or be negligent in protecting its marine borders, especially when outside powers, particularly the US, are trying to intrude in the waters of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
As the world’s 17 largest nation with an area of 1,648,000 square km, Iran’s southern coastline is 1,770 km long, while its northern coastline stretches for 650 km along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.
A powerful navy is indeed a deterrent against any would-be-aggressor and hence Iran needs to constantly modernize its naval forces and carry out maneuvers to test their prowess.
The Islamic Republic is well aware of the lessons of history, and is determined to have the upper hand in any encounter, whether at sea, or land and in the air.
If, during the early days of 8-year war that the US had imposed in the 1980s through Saddam of Baghdad’s repressive Ba’th minority regime, timely action by Iran’s naval forces had completely destroyed the Ba’thist navy, it was Iran’s lack of access to the fast developing technology and a sophisticated seaborne defence system that emboldened the cowardly Americans to scuttle the merchant ship ‘Iran Ajor’, attack oil platforms in the Persian Gulf, cripple a couple of frigates in an uneven battle, and shoot down the Iran Air passenger plane with some 300 travellers and crew on board.
Iran also knows that until the Safavids built a strong navy Hormoz, Qeshm and Bahrain weren’t liberated from the Portuguese, and subsequently when the Qajars neglected the defence of maritime borders, Bahrain was lost to the Aal-e Khalifa pirates of the Khor Abdullah waterway.
It is worth mentioning that during the last heydays of Muslim power in the 16th and 17th centuries when three powerful empires – the Safavids, the Ottomans, and the Moghals of the Subcontinent ruled a large area stretching from the confines of Burma in the east to southeastern Europe and the North African coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, it was naval power that kept away the colonial predators from encroaching upon the Islamic world.
The Ottomans had virtually turned the Mediterranean into a Turkish Lake where, neither the French nor the Spanish – who were colonizing the Americas, could dare to challenge Muslim power. When the Ottomans neglected their naval capabilities they started facing defeats in the high seas.
The same was the story of the Moghals of the Subcontinent, whose lack of interest in properly defending their coasts through upgrading of their navy resulted in the gradual seizure of India by the Portuguese, the French, and the British.
After the Safavids, for a brief period under Nader Shah the Iranian navy was unchallenged in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, before the decay set in when weak Qajar dynasty took power and was replaced by sold-out Pahlavis, who were actually the slaves of British and American imperialism in Iran, rather than the servants of the Iranian nation.
Thus, in view of these undeniable realities, the Islamic Republic of Iran is resolved to transform itself into the paramount naval power of the region, not just for the defence of Iran, but for defending the nations in the neighbourhood which are being held in thrall and exploited by the Great Satan.